looking at 1975 280s ,have carb question
 

I understand they use solex carbs and am looking at a nice example,but owner has the carb off of car stating it needs to be rebuilt.my question is :are they good engines with carbs,can solex be rebuilt with kits available and is a fuel injected 77 116 chassis a better way to go.the 75 has excellent interior and paint,plus looks like hvaac is simpler than 77

The M110 engine is an inherently good engine. The Solex 4A1 carburetor can be made to perform acceptably; it is, however, subject to overheating and overtightening of the retaining nuts. The engine-mounted catalytic converter is the source of most of the overheating. As to the overtightening, you can't fix stupid.

Since the 1975 model year is exempt from CA emissions inspections, the cat can be deleted, and the exhaust manifolds from 77 & later substituted. The Solex carb can be replaced by a throttle body injector (TBI).

what about the 280se as to fuel injection and parts availability,which would you choose

I had a '79 280S Euro that I was never able to put on the road due to the 4A1.

This is the one that was high on my list to purchase - 38 DGES Weber carb conversion kit for Mercedes 280,280C,280S,72-76 - JAM Engineering Fuel Systems

If not, it would have been a GM TBI swap.

No way I would go through the hassle of a Kjet swap.

The progressive Weber 32 / 36 DGV - DGAV - DGEV is a common carb swap across many makes so don't count that one out. ( These operate using 1 barrel for most driving then the secondary starts to open up at 75% ish throttle )

The DGES is a straight 2 barrel where both open at the same time.

I never went the JAM way as I read a few places, that it did not supply sufficient CFM at high RPM for the M110 over the factory 4A1 Solex. Never confirmed, car was stolen. :/

The comparison of K-jet fuel injection in the '77 vs. Solex carb in the '75 favors the injected '77.
Also the K-jet system can be quite readily replaced by a simple version of electric, pulsed injection.

Thank you for all the info. I think the carb version may be more problematic and will examine the 77

I just looked this carb up and see it is a small primary / large secondary 4 barrel so the 32 / 36 DGV would be pretty small.

I'd go straight for a GM Quadrajet since lots of tuning parts are available. quadrajetparts.com Another choice would be a Carter AFB / AVS THE CARBURETOR SHOP / Carter AFB tips Last I checked, Edelbrock still makes these carbs new.

Modern FI would be nicer to drive but there is a decent amount of overhead to make it work. K jet is a looser due to repair parts availability / cost.

I just had a closer look at the Solex. It is a close copy of a GM quadrajet.